God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen, Let Nothing You Dismay.
Issue 198: Cold Comfort and Joy! 24th December 1988.
Weird planet this, but it’s Tee Vee is excellent! This one’s called Miami Metal Clamp...Or something like that!
I have a terrible confession to make. Long time readers of this blog may remember that I have previously described this as the first Christmas story to be written by Simon Furman. And I had a whole spiel ready to produce when I reached this point about what it meant in terms of his evolving attitude to the book as his career seemed to be taking off elsewhere that he decided to take on a slot he’d previously been happy to avoid. It would have been thoughtful, clever and shaken Transformers fandom down to its Peter Cullen underwear.
Sadly you’ll now never be able to dispute the above bold claim as Cold Comfort and Joy! is only plotted by Furman, but actually written by Ian Rimmer. So basically the same situation as last year then. What a shame, you’ll never know what you missed.
In the comic we actually got, it’s easy to see where Furman’s major influence was. This is a story with two plots, one fairly serious one covering Prime’s first return to Earth since his resurrection (the Wiki places this before Club Con! for this reason, but—whilst I’d certainly be inclined to go with that—as he’s only seen on the Ark in space in that story and there’s nothing to say he hasn’t been in contact with the other Autobots here it could just as easily be afterwards) and one full of funny hijinks about the Powermasters discovering the meaning of Christmas.
Furman has a slightly unfair reputation for making Optimus a miserable self doubting bugger. Whilst it’s true it’s an aspect of the character that comes more and more to the fore as he develops over the years (culminating in Prime’s full on emo phase in ReGeneration One), we saw only last week that Budiansky was more than capable of treating Prime in the same way and the inherent guilt over having brought the war to Earth is what separates Marvel Prime from his John Wayne TV counterpart.
It is however here that the idea of Prime’s responsibility for crashing the Ark really becomes a defining character trait for the first time. It’s slightly unfortunate that this introspection comes just a week after Budiansky did something similar—with a bit more coordination this could easily have been a story about Optimus dealing with his issues about that instead—but as much as I enjoy the borderline psychopathic unwavering cowboy Prime, I do also have a great deal of time for Marvel’s more conflicted version.
When your fellow Autobots include Getaway it's an easy sacrifice to make.
The reason for Prime’s sudden introspective mood is the fact that, despite having been told how much he cares about Earth and having all of his memories of the planet, he can’t for the life of him work out what so impressed him about the place as he wanders through a snow covered forest. Actually taking the time out to deal with the trauma he went through is a sensible idea, especially as the American stories effectively ignored this and went straight from him being so shell shocked as to think he was a computer game character to leading the troops again without breaking a sweat.
I also suspect this is the key influence on the attitude to Powermaster Prime as portrayed in James Roberts unofficial fan novel Eugenesis. In two weeks I’ll be arguing this is a false premise, and it’s certainly true that this is the only time the new Optimus thinks of his past self as almost being an entirely new being.
His bafflement over his protective attitude towards Earth leads to him musing on past events, causing our first main strip big story so far recap since Raider of the Last Ark! (ironically the crash of the Ark there is firmly shown to be Aunty’s decision) back in the first half of 1985. These will become more common now Prime is established as a character who thinks long and hard about these things, but here it feels especially effective to cover the early history of the book as we approach issue 200. Much of the art is clearly influenced by old panels and covers, but Andy Wildman (of whom a lot more further down) never veers into straightforward copying, making sure each image is evocative of those early stories without being a shameless rehash of the works of others. I especially like the panel of Prime consulting Prowl as the Decepticons board the Ark, an instantly recognisable moment for me (as for some reason I always liked that bit of the first issue) but with the final character models and a dynamism all of its own.
It’s here that Prime realises why he cares about Earth so much, but the reveal for the reader is held off until he meets up with the other plot.
I also suspect this is the key influence on the attitude to Powermaster Prime as portrayed in James Roberts unofficial fan novel Eugenesis. In two weeks I’ll be arguing this is a false premise, and it’s certainly true that this is the only time the new Optimus thinks of his past self as almost being an entirely new being.
His bafflement over his protective attitude towards Earth leads to him musing on past events, causing our first main strip big story so far recap since Raider of the Last Ark! (ironically the crash of the Ark there is firmly shown to be Aunty’s decision) back in the first half of 1985. These will become more common now Prime is established as a character who thinks long and hard about these things, but here it feels especially effective to cover the early history of the book as we approach issue 200. Much of the art is clearly influenced by old panels and covers, but Andy Wildman (of whom a lot more further down) never veers into straightforward copying, making sure each image is evocative of those early stories without being a shameless rehash of the works of others. I especially like the panel of Prime consulting Prowl as the Decepticons board the Ark, an instantly recognisable moment for me (as for some reason I always liked that bit of the first issue) but with the final character models and a dynamism all of its own.
It’s here that Prime realises why he cares about Earth so much, but the reveal for the reader is held off until he meets up with the other plot.
Wildman will get Prowl's pissed off face down to an art.
The secondary storyline is almost certainly all Ian Rimmer, and even pokes some fun at the Prime story as Joyride muses that when Prime says he needs some time to think, he really thinks.
Prime has come to Earth in a shuttle (from the Steelhaven?) with his three Powermaster pals, but as they don’t have great thoughts to think they’re stuck bored out of their minds (except for Slapdash, who is enjoying Miami Vice). So when a news report comes in of a local small town’s Christmas being ruined by rampaging giant robots, they decide it must be the Decepticons and they’ll go sort it out off their own back. When they see how depressed the locals are by the wrecking of their Christmas celebrations (they’re so traumatised in fact that they completely fail to notice that a F1 car is pottering about without a driver) they become even more determined to stop the evil Decepticon scourge (as opposed to evil Decepticon Scourge).
They find the three miscreants during a blizzard and go in fists flying... only to discover it’s Inferno, Broadside and Sandstorm. It turns out they’d only tried to join in the spirit of Christmas with the humans and all the destruction had been an accidental reaction to the humans seeing them transform.
Those Wreckers sure know how to throw a party.
It’s a very silly gag that doesn’t stand up to close examination (doesn’t Sandstorm remember the humans running in panic from him as he tried to save them last time he was on Earth?), but it’s entirely appropriate for the slightly silly Christmas season and makes for an entertaining comedy of errors.
This is when the two plots meet as Prime has followed the news report as well and found his troops (you actually get the impression he’s pretty exasperate with the other Powermasters, you can see why he won’t hang round with them again after this), but isn’t there to put them on his big red and blue robot Santa naughty list as he’s decided his own sin is greater. He has remembered that it was his decision to crash the Ark into Earth, and that everything that has happened since to the planet is his fault. Which as Joyride helpfully points out means all they’ve given the humans for Christmas is war.
Prime has come to Earth in a shuttle (from the Steelhaven?) with his three Powermaster pals, but as they don’t have great thoughts to think they’re stuck bored out of their minds (except for Slapdash, who is enjoying Miami Vice). So when a news report comes in of a local small town’s Christmas being ruined by rampaging giant robots, they decide it must be the Decepticons and they’ll go sort it out off their own back. When they see how depressed the locals are by the wrecking of their Christmas celebrations (they’re so traumatised in fact that they completely fail to notice that a F1 car is pottering about without a driver) they become even more determined to stop the evil Decepticon scourge (as opposed to evil Decepticon Scourge).
They find the three miscreants during a blizzard and go in fists flying... only to discover it’s Inferno, Broadside and Sandstorm. It turns out they’d only tried to join in the spirit of Christmas with the humans and all the destruction had been an accidental reaction to the humans seeing them transform.
Those Wreckers sure know how to throw a party.
It’s a very silly gag that doesn’t stand up to close examination (doesn’t Sandstorm remember the humans running in panic from him as he tried to save them last time he was on Earth?), but it’s entirely appropriate for the slightly silly Christmas season and makes for an entertaining comedy of errors.
This is when the two plots meet as Prime has followed the news report as well and found his troops (you actually get the impression he’s pretty exasperate with the other Powermasters, you can see why he won’t hang round with them again after this), but isn’t there to put them on his big red and blue robot Santa naughty list as he’s decided his own sin is greater. He has remembered that it was his decision to crash the Ark into Earth, and that everything that has happened since to the planet is his fault. Which as Joyride helpfully points out means all they’ve given the humans for Christmas is war.
Forget Nightbeat, Joyride is the Autobot's greatest detective.
Prime decides the best and simplest way to start mending their ways is to fix the mess they’ve made of the local town. But, as he suddenly stops being Santa and tries out roleplaying Linda Hamilton, he knows a storm is coming...
Despite the two halves being tonally at odds with one another, this actually works very well and sets Prime on a course that Furman will continue to plough for the rest of his time writing for the character.
I do wonder how good Optimus is going to be at discipline now he’s decided his own crime is the worst any Autobot can do though.
Hubcap: Optimus, I just crushed 100 human babies to death and am now wearing their skulls as a necklace.
Prime: Your shame is nothing compared to mine, Hubcap.
For art this is a key issue as it’s the début of Andy (or Andrew as he’ll prefer to be credited in later years) Wildman. It’s fair to say—and certainly no shame on any of the other artists to have worked on the book—that Geoff Senior has always been Furman’s ideal Transformers artist, and if he’d been more willing to commit long term to the book rather than just doing his friend the odd favour he would probably be drawing just about everything.
However, with Senior not interested in regular Transformers work, Furman is instead going to cultivate a long and fruitful creative relationship with Wildman. On the surface this might seem strange as every other artist Furman has developed whilst he’s been editor (with the exception of the seemingly not al that enthusiastically received work of Dan Reed) has very much been in the Geoff Senior ballpark of big solid art with square jaws. Of which Lee Sullivan is probably the finest example.
Wildman on the other hand will become known for his very humanised take on the characters, curves and teeth and saliva and dangling wires everywhere. It’s not as extreme as Reed’s work, but it will become completely unlike anything we’ve yet seen once his style settles down. In theory it’s the complete opposite of everything Furman has tried to achieve with the look of the book, but the two like minded creators will click and (once Steven Baskerville’s inks are added on a regular basis as the cherry on the cake) will go on to do many great things together.
This isn’t quite there yet despite Baskerville being present as well. The character designs are more on model than they’ll become, making for solid if not especially distinctive work. However, even here the facial expressions are a standout and the little jokes he likes to put into his art—Aunty is rebuilding one of the Ark’s casualties into a toaster—that reward closer reading are also present and correct. It’s certainly a promising first strip and you can see why he’d be added to the roster on a full time basis almost immediately. The best however is yet to come.
Despite the two halves being tonally at odds with one another, this actually works very well and sets Prime on a course that Furman will continue to plough for the rest of his time writing for the character.
I do wonder how good Optimus is going to be at discipline now he’s decided his own crime is the worst any Autobot can do though.
Hubcap: Optimus, I just crushed 100 human babies to death and am now wearing their skulls as a necklace.
Prime: Your shame is nothing compared to mine, Hubcap.
For art this is a key issue as it’s the début of Andy (or Andrew as he’ll prefer to be credited in later years) Wildman. It’s fair to say—and certainly no shame on any of the other artists to have worked on the book—that Geoff Senior has always been Furman’s ideal Transformers artist, and if he’d been more willing to commit long term to the book rather than just doing his friend the odd favour he would probably be drawing just about everything.
However, with Senior not interested in regular Transformers work, Furman is instead going to cultivate a long and fruitful creative relationship with Wildman. On the surface this might seem strange as every other artist Furman has developed whilst he’s been editor (with the exception of the seemingly not al that enthusiastically received work of Dan Reed) has very much been in the Geoff Senior ballpark of big solid art with square jaws. Of which Lee Sullivan is probably the finest example.
Wildman on the other hand will become known for his very humanised take on the characters, curves and teeth and saliva and dangling wires everywhere. It’s not as extreme as Reed’s work, but it will become completely unlike anything we’ve yet seen once his style settles down. In theory it’s the complete opposite of everything Furman has tried to achieve with the look of the book, but the two like minded creators will click and (once Steven Baskerville’s inks are added on a regular basis as the cherry on the cake) will go on to do many great things together.
This isn’t quite there yet despite Baskerville being present as well. The character designs are more on model than they’ll become, making for solid if not especially distinctive work. However, even here the facial expressions are a standout and the little jokes he likes to put into his art—Aunty is rebuilding one of the Ark’s casualties into a toaster—that reward closer reading are also present and correct. It’s certainly a promising first strip and you can see why he’d be added to the roster on a full time basis almost immediately. The best however is yet to come.
A bearded Transformer wearing a fake beard...
As is now traditional, the cover and Transformation page and covered in snow and tinsel, though the decorations don’t extend to the rest of the interior this time. The bulk of the editorial is given over to providing some extra context to Prime’s backstory, in particular reminding readers of his time thinking he was a computer character which the main strip doesn’t mention. As you’d expect by now there’s a brief bit of pimping for Time Wars as well.
Dread Tidings sees Stewart Smith from Newport ask a question about the death of Cyclonus that not only lets Dreadwind mention Time Wars, but also gives us the first instance of a mistake that will recur throughout the forthcoming epic whereby he claims bunny ears died twenty years before he was created when it was only 18. It’s a small error (and if not for the fact it’s not just made by the characters but the omniscient narration as well you could allow for error/rounding up), but it’s one that is going to be made a lot.
Appropriately for the time of year, there’s a competition for the three main Hasbro/Marvel Annuals (as well Transformers there’s Action Force and Visionaries), where you have to recognise the Transformers in the Santa hats and beards. Don’t worry if you don’t win, the reprint of the first issue of Visionaries that comprises their Annual will be doing the rounds for (at least) the third time in this very book shortly.
The current Action Force story ends with Cobra destroying the train, only for it to turn out to be a massive trick and the team hadn’t put the Terrordome parts upon it at all. This seems to be Flint’s idea, which feels like sweet justice for him being treated with such contempt earlier in the arc. We then get two threads for future stories: The first is Scarlett being determined to rescue Snake Eyes (which the next issue will pick up on), and the second being Destro going home to Scotland. People who only know him from his accent in the cartoon may be surprised to know he’s Scottish. People who only know him from Chris Eccleston’s terrible performance in the live action film may also be surprised to know he’s Scottish despite said film repeatedly trying to tell us that’s what his accent is supposed to be.
Combat Colin also gets in on the Christmas spirit, with a rhyming story where Colin and Steve discuss what violent weapons they want as presents before deciding what they really want is peace on Earth. It’s more sweet than especially funny, but it is rather lovely.
Possibly the most exciting thing about the non-comic contents of the issue though is buried in Dread Tidings. Dreadwind reveals that the long delayed UK printing of Transformers Universe has finally happened, and gives a coupon to let readers send off for it for the low price of £1.99 (including postage!). Which leads us neatly into the next feature of my 1988 wrap up pieces...
ISSUE 197
1988
COMMENT
Dread Tidings sees Stewart Smith from Newport ask a question about the death of Cyclonus that not only lets Dreadwind mention Time Wars, but also gives us the first instance of a mistake that will recur throughout the forthcoming epic whereby he claims bunny ears died twenty years before he was created when it was only 18. It’s a small error (and if not for the fact it’s not just made by the characters but the omniscient narration as well you could allow for error/rounding up), but it’s one that is going to be made a lot.
Appropriately for the time of year, there’s a competition for the three main Hasbro/Marvel Annuals (as well Transformers there’s Action Force and Visionaries), where you have to recognise the Transformers in the Santa hats and beards. Don’t worry if you don’t win, the reprint of the first issue of Visionaries that comprises their Annual will be doing the rounds for (at least) the third time in this very book shortly.
The current Action Force story ends with Cobra destroying the train, only for it to turn out to be a massive trick and the team hadn’t put the Terrordome parts upon it at all. This seems to be Flint’s idea, which feels like sweet justice for him being treated with such contempt earlier in the arc. We then get two threads for future stories: The first is Scarlett being determined to rescue Snake Eyes (which the next issue will pick up on), and the second being Destro going home to Scotland. People who only know him from his accent in the cartoon may be surprised to know he’s Scottish. People who only know him from Chris Eccleston’s terrible performance in the live action film may also be surprised to know he’s Scottish despite said film repeatedly trying to tell us that’s what his accent is supposed to be.
Combat Colin also gets in on the Christmas spirit, with a rhyming story where Colin and Steve discuss what violent weapons they want as presents before deciding what they really want is peace on Earth. It’s more sweet than especially funny, but it is rather lovely.
Possibly the most exciting thing about the non-comic contents of the issue though is buried in Dread Tidings. Dreadwind reveals that the long delayed UK printing of Transformers Universe has finally happened, and gives a coupon to let readers send off for it for the low price of £1.99 (including postage!). Which leads us neatly into the next feature of my 1988 wrap up pieces...
ISSUE 197
1988
COMMENT
